KANNAPOLIS — Three people face felony charges after authorities say they broke into a Guinn Avenue home where they knew the homeowners would not be home. Two of the three remain in the county jail.
The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office charged Elizabeth Marie Upright, 19, of the 200 block of West Haven Way, China Grove, with felony breaking and entering, and felony larceny after breaking and entering. She has since been released from the Rowan County Detention Center.
Victor Wayne Benton III, 23, of the 100 block of Sawdust Trail, Salisbury, facing the same charges, remains in the Rowan County jail under a $7,500 secured bond.
Jessica Nicole Williamson, also 23, of the 4600 block of Rainbow Drive, Kannapolis, was charged with felony breaking and entering, felony possession of stolen goods and felony larceny after breaking and entering. She also remains in the county jail under a $7,500 secured bond.
The burglary was discovered the day after Christmas at 12:20 p.m. The homeowner, Sandra Mann, spoke to a deputy and said someone entered the home she shared with Billy Holshouser and took diamond rings and prescription pills.
The two said they’d spent the night at the home of a friend and when they returned found they had been robbed.
Mann and Holshouser said the three suspects had asked if they were going to work the next day — the day the house was broken into. Officers returned to the home Mann and Holshouser had been visiting and Upright came to the door.
Upright and Williamson were both in the home and eventually admitted to taking prescription pills, but denied taking the jewelry, authorities report.
Benton returned to the home from a nearby store and appeared to be intoxicated, according to reports. He told deputies he didn’t know anything about the burglary.
In 2008, Benton was convicted of felony breaking and entering, according to the N.C. Department of Corrections.
Williamson was convicted earlier this month of misdemeanor larceny and is currently on probation. She was convicted in 2012 of felony obtaining property by false pretenses.
The Department of Corrections has no records related to Upright.